Something Good
by mmcgonagall06
Summary: Will a stroll in the moonlight and a chance to finally vent years of pentup stress and fear bring out some new emotions between the Headmaster and his Deputy?
1. Painful Memories

_**DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, I am not the fabulous J.K. Rowling, nor am I the immensely talented Richard Rodgers or Oscar Hammerstein (explained below), so, unfortunately, the only thing I can claim as my own invention in this story is the plot.**_

**_Song: "Something Good". Words and music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Performed by Julie Andrew and Christopher Plummer in the 1965 Twentieth Century Fox film The Sound of Music_**

**A/N: Sorry about how long this is, but I had to get all this in for the sake of keeping this story to only a few chapters. The next chapter shouldn't be as bad!**

Minerva and Albus were taking a quiet midnight stroll through around the castle, a habit they had formed the previous year when they had had to patrol the corridors at night after Sirius Black's unprecedented escape from Azkaban. Much to the curiosity of the rest of their colleagues, Albus and Minerva always chose each other as their "patrolling partners" and would "patrol" the corridors even when it was not their designated night to do so. The two esteemed professors had been the best of friends since Minerva's years at Hogwarts, when Albus was the Transfiguration teacher and Head of Gryffindor House, two positions that Minerva herself currently held. They had grow accustomed to seeing each other every night and so enjoyed each other's company that they continued their nightly ritual into current year.

While taking their walks, Albus and Minerva would usually speak about the many goings-on of Hogwarts or the ongoing efforts to locate Lord Voldemort. They rarely ever ventured into the realms of their personal affairs, as their relationship had remained platonic these many years. Tonight, however, they both (secretly, of course) had more than friendship on their minds. Although unbeknownst to the other, Albus and Minerva had each picked this particular night to reveal the love that they had unknowingly shared for forty years.

_Perhaps I had a wicked childhood Perhaps I had a miserable youth But somewhere in my wicked, miserablepast Theremust have been a moment of truth_

Minerva and her best friend walked in companionable silence for a while before she finally spoke. "Albus," she began quietly.

"Yes, my dear?"

"I was wondering, would it be alright if I - I mean - well, you see -"

She was trying to ask him if she could confide something in him, that something being that she had feelings for a certain colleague that were not exactly professional and she was unsure as to whether or not the feelings were mutual. The prospect of finally revealing her feelings, the stress of the Triwizard Tournament, and some rather unpleasant events that had occurred that day made her uncharacteristically nervous and when she broke off suddenly, Albus turned his sparkling blue eyes to hers. He was startled to see that her shoulders were shaking uncontrollably and her face was streaked with glistening tears, making her cheeks shimmer in the scattered moonlight in the courtyard where they were currently walking. Minerva didn't know why she was crying. True, she was very nervous, under an immense load of stress, and suffering from a lack of sleep, but she didn't think that warranted her weakness and emotional breakdown. She was furious with herself for acting like such a fool, especially in front of Albus, and quickly tried to muffle her sobs. However, Minerva found, to her dismay that the more she tried to stifle her sobbing, the heavier it became.

Albus stepped out in front of her, grabbing her shoulders to make her stop walking. She couldn't bring herself to look up into those amazingly beautiful blue eyes. "Minerva, my dear, whatever is the matter?" he asked, his concerned blue eyes searching her face for the source of her anguish.

"Oh, Albus! I've been so worried lately - about Harry and Cedric, He-Who-Mu-(Dumbledore cocked a silver eyebrow at this) oh, okay, Voldemort, certain personal affairs, and I got an owl today from my sister -" she broke off again. She and Albus had been best friends for over half a century, but in their many conversations about various issues, she had always tried to avoid talking about her family. Albus, being as insightful, yet sensitive, as ever, had noticed her wariness about the subject and respected her privacy by never pressing the issue. But, as Albus was, indeed, only human, he had eventually given in to his curiosity and asked her outright about it.

* * *

_"Minerva," he had said to her one evening twenty years ago during one of their nightly chess matches in her private sitting room, "I've noticed that this seems to be a very sensitive topic for you, so please forgive me for my boldness in inquiring about it and please do not feel obliged to answer, but-"_

_"You want to know about my family." Minerva finished for him, without looking up from her the chessboard. "Queen to D8."_

_"Only if there's any information you're comfortable sharing with me," he added quickly. "I don't want you to feel pressured in any way. . .Bishop to D8."_

_Minerva gave a resigned sigh and tore her eyes away from Dumbledore's Bishop knocking her Queen off the board._ For as much as a gentleman as Albus is_, she hadthought to herself,_ his chessmen really are quite barbaric_. "My family is not exactly, um, traditional. My parents would fight with each other all the time and I always got stuck in the middle. They would fight about all sorts of things: politics, money, me and my sister, and lots of other things. They never agreed on anything and spent more time fighting and arguing than actually getting along. One night, I couldn't sleep because I was so nervous about starting school the next day (she gave Albus a weak smile), so I went downstairs to get a glass of water. I was at the top of the stairs when I heard them arguing in the kitchen. I was about to turn back when I heard my name in their conversation. I listened for a few minutes, trying to figure out what they were arguing about. My mother said 'Charles, no! She's far too young!' and my father said, 'Catherine, she's only two years younger than you were when we were married!' And then it dawned on me what they were fighting about. My father had been going on for ages about how he hoped my younger sister and I would marry respectably and had recently comprised a list of the young men we knew who might be appropriate, and now it all made sense. I listened for a few more minutes and gathered that my father had already agreed for be to be betrothed to a boy who was three years my junior called Trevor MacArthur and my mother was absolutely appalled at the idea._

_"I was so devastated that I couldn't bear to stand there and listen any more. I knew that no matter how much my mother argued my father would win in the end. His word was law in our house, and there was nothing anyone could do to change it. I started making my way back up the stairs, but turned around again when the mood of the argument took a completely different turn than I had expected. I heard my mother crying and my father was shouting at her. Despite myself, I crept down the stairs to peer around the corner into the kitchen._

_"My mother was huddled in a ball on the floor in the corner, crying and begging my father, who was standing over her with his wand pointed at her, for mercy. 'Don't do this, Charles, please don't do this,' she wailed. My father took no heed of her, and what I saw him do, I have never, to this day, forgiven him for." Minerva had stopped her there, unsure of if she would be able to continue. She drew a ragged breath and shuddered. Albus stood up from the chair opposite her where he had been sitting and moved gracefully around the coffee table to sit next to her on the couch. He held her hands in his and rubbed the backs of them with his thumbs._

_"If you do not wish to continue, please do not continue." He told her. Albus hadn't known what he had been expecting to hear about Minerva's family, but this was certainly not it. Yet, as bad as it had sounded already, he was sure that if Minerva chose to continue her tale, it would get much worse._

_"No, no, I just need a moment to compose myself," she had replied. Albus watched her intently, never taking his eyes off of her. There was something about the look in her eyes, or how her bun was falling out and her black locks were starting to fall around her face, or how the light from the dancing flames of the fire reflected in her dark brown eyes that had made Albus realize how beautiful she was. He has always known that she was beautiful, but then she had looked even more so. Watching her stare into the fire that night, he had wanted more than anything to tell her how he felt about her, but knew that this was definitely not the appropriate time to do so._

_Minerva drew another shuddering breath and continued her story, looking as though the memory of it had haunted her for a very long time. "As I sat there, staring around the corner into the kitchen, twelve years old and scared out of my life, I watched my father -" she hesitated, and Albus could tell that she was doing her best not to cry. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him. "I watched my father put the Cruciatus Curse on my mother," she finished and her shoulders shook violently as the tears she had been holding back fell at last. All Albus could think to do was hold her and whisper nonsense words of comfort into her hair, which was fully out of its usual tight bun, while she cried to her troubled heart's content._

_

* * *

_

Over the years, from bits of various other conversations, Albus had found out that Minerva's betrothed had passed away from a muggle disease called pneumonia during a five-year experiment for his university study where he was to live like a muggle with absolutely no magic and no contact with anyone in the magical world. He had apparently loved being a muggle so much that he had refused the magical treatment the healers had offered him, preferring dying as a muggle over living as a wizard. Albus had also found out that although they had been very close as children, Minerva and her sister Artemis had rarely spoken in over fifty years. The occasions on which they had communicated were not generally pleasant. Artemis' owls only ever contained bad news, so when Minerva said that her sister had contacted her, Albus was sure that there was more bad news to come.

**A/N: Again, sorry this was so long. If you didn't like it, please tell me! Reviews really make my day, and if I don't have input from my readers, I don't know what I'm doing wrong or how to fix it! Thanks for reading! I promise the next chapter won't be this long!**


	2. Kindred Pasts

**_DISCLAIMER: I'm not J.K., not all of these characters, places, etc., belong to me, and this isn't my song._**

**A/N: Sorry this took so long to update! I've been extra busy with school and crap like that, so I just haven't had time. Y'all are gonna have to bear with me on this chapter. I haven't done any fan fic for about 50 years, so I might have lost my touch! Please let me know from the readers' perspective! Also, I've completely forgotten my original plan for this story, so I'm pretty much just winging it here. If there are any inconsistencies between this and the previous chapter, PLEASE let me know**

* * *

Minerva didn't know what to say. She had not intended to let slip that she had heard from her sister. She knew that Albus only had her best interests at heart, but his gentle questions about her past still made her feel uncomfortable. Knowing that the truth was always the best (although oftentimes undesirable) option in dealing with Dumbledore's questions, Minerva decided to tell Dumbledore her sister's news.

"Artemis wrote to tell me that our father passed away last night." Minerva's complicated relationship with her father made all her feelings and emotions regarding his death very confused. On one hand, she was devastated at the loss of her second parent, but on the other hand, she felt a bit of relief that the man who had ruined her childhood and haunted her for the elapsed duration of her adult life would not be able to hurt her anymore. Minerva had expected this to happen. She loved her father, but she had still never quite forgiven him for what he had done to her mother all those years ago.

Feeling hurt, lost, confused, and guilty, Minerva knew that it would be only a matter of seconds before she began to cry.

"Oh, Minerva. I am so sorry," Albus offered kindly as he pulled Minerva into his strong embrace.

"Albus, I just don't know what to feel or think at all right now. I'm so confus-" When Minerva broke off, Albus pulled back from her and looked worriedly at her. But she didn't notice. She had suddenly felt a new emotion wash over her. It wasn't sorrow, fear, or elation, but something so completely unexpected, but so simply obvious, that it came to Minerva as a simultaneous revelation and slap in the face. This new feeling, this wonderful feeling, was that of resolution – resolution and forgiveness.

Minerva knew then and there that she could never bring herself to fully forgive her father for what he had done, but she subconsciously decided right then that she would, from that moment forward, be able to live her life without anger or resentment towards Charles McGonagall.

The Transfiguration professor must have had a faraway expression on her face after her realization because Albus, still staring intently and worriedly at his friend, asked cautiously, "Minerva? Minerva, my dear, are you alright?"

Minerva looked up slowly into those sparkling blue eyes and held their gaze for a moment before answering. After a moment, she barely audibly whispered, "Yes, Albus. Yes, I think I am alright."

"Are you quite sure? Is there anything I can do?" Albus was sure he knew what was going on in Minerva's head. He himself had faced a similar ordeal in his youth and had already experienced the resolution that had come to him with the death of his abusive father. He knew that Minerva would share her feelings with him when she was ready to do so and she knew that his offer to help included lending an ear or shoulder to cry on.

"Just keep being you," Minerva said with a small smile. With a bow, Albus offered his arm to her. She took it and they set off down the corridor together.

* * *

_Nothing comes from nothing_

_Nothing ever could_

_So somewhere in my youth or childhood_

_I must have done something good._

The friends continued in the same companionable silence they had enjoyed before Minerva's episode. She felt so much better now that she had vented and come to terms with her feelings about her father. She knew that Albus must be dying to know what had caused her sudden mood swing, but she also knew that he had enough patience and respect to wait until she was ready to offer the information.

Just then, Minerva thought of something. Over the past forty years, she had been so preoccupied with trying to keep her past hidden from Dumbledore that she had never inquired as to his own life prior to their acquaintance. She had always wondered about the "Many Mysteries of Albus", as she had grown to call them in her head, and desired now more than ever to know about them. For it was occurring only now to Minerva just how little she knew about her best friend.

"Albus," she began to ask. Albus, however, had been anticipating this question. He had known it was coming for a long time and the night's events had just given it the final shove. He was therefore ready with a response, much in the same way that Minerva had been on that night twenty years before when Albus had wanted to ask about her family.

"I never knew my mother," he offered matter-of-factly before Minerva had a chance to finish her question, "and my father was very abusive of the three of us. The hair on the back of Minerva's neck stood on end. As far as she knew, Albus only had one sibling, his brother Abeforth, who was the bartender and innkeeper at the Hog's Head Pub in Hogsmeade. She had never heard anyone speak of a third Dumbledore child. She was almost dreading the story that she was about to hear, for she knew that it could not be good.

Minerva also felt a pang of guilt. All Albus had ever done was help her and be there for her, and now she was prying into his past life as though she had some divine, God-given right to know everything about him.

"You looked shocked, my dear." Albus said in a teasing, yet concerned, voice.

"I am." Minerva admitted.

"I know that it may come as a bit of a surprise to you, but yes, I did have another sibling. My sister, Agatha, was two years older than I. She was murdered by a dark wizard called Galderoff, who was comparable in power to Voldemort, when I was nine years old."

"Oh my. Albus, I am truly sorry for your loss. It must have been hard, especially at such a young age."

"Minerva, my dear, thank you so much for your sympathy. I came to terms with and accepted Aggie's death many, many years ago, but it still means a lot to hear that you care." Albus knew that Minerva cared about him as a friend and he had always valued their friendship. He was especially grateful for it now, however, and was very glad that he could tell her about his past. She was the only person with whom he had ever shared any of the secrets from his childhood and he knew that the same was true in reverse. Therefore, sharing his true feelings for his colleague and risking that beautiful friendship would be quite foolish and altogether impossible to do.

* * *

Minerva still could not believe what she had heard. She knew that Albus must have had some sort of traumatizing event in his past, but this was more than she had expected. How could he have turned out as lovely as he had with such a horrible event haunting him every second of his life? Minerva had thought that her childhood had been bad, but after hearing even this one memory of Albus' made her feel like she had been a spoiled rotten child. The Transfiguration professor decided to write to her sister first thing the next morning. She realized that her past had made her bitter, but she really had no reason to take out her frustrations on the people in her life.

She decided then and there to stop taking things, people, and life in general, for granted. She was going to start living life to the fullest and without any regrets. She was going to live like there was no tomorrow. What if Voldemort was waiting in her office that very moment to kill her the second she walked in the door? What if he was waiting for Albus and the headmaster died before Minerva ever had a chance to tell him how she felt?

"Minerva, dear, are you alright?"

Minerva realized that she must have had an odd expression on her face. "Yes, I'm quite alright." She responded, blinking and bringing her mind back to the present.

"Good," Albus said with a dazzling smile. "Now Minerva, I know that look on your face all too well. You feel bad for complaining about something you think now to be insignificant," He took her hands in his and they both stopped walking. She gazed up into his beautiful blue eyes." Let me assure you of the contrary. We both suffered greatly as children; neither more so than the other. Our misfortunes were of different natures, and their calibers are not comparable."

"Oh, Albus," she said, barely stifling a sob. And once again, Albus was holding and soothing Minerva as she let go her pent-up emotions in the form of heavy tears.

* * *

After a few moments, Minerva pulled away, wiped the tears from her face and looked once more into Albus' eyes. "Albus, I need to tell you something."

**A/N: I am so sorry this took me so long to update! I've been working on this chapter on and off for almost three weeks, so if there are any inconsistencies, please let me know! I hope y'all like this one. I hated leaving that cliffie there, but if I'd kept going, this chap would have a) taken another week or two to get up, because of school, and b) been twice as long. So, leave me review and let me know how horrible it was! I love y'all! Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long…..**


	3. The Retching in the Corridor

_**DISCLAIMER**__**: I'm not J.K. Rowling, Richard Rodgers, or Oscar Hammerstein. These aren't my people or places, and this isn't my song, yadda, yadda, yadda…**_

**A/N: Um, yeah. So here's the last chapter of this one. Kind of a long wait. Just pretend that the stuff in previous chapters coincides with the canon (won't elaborate here to avoid having to post a spoiler warning), even though this ship isn't entirely really canon…Enjoy.**

Albus looked at the Transfiguration professor. They had just shared their darkest secrets with each other. What could Minerva have to say now that could be as important as what they had just discussed? Something about the look in her eye—a mix of trepidation and resolution, as though she were steeling herself up to say whatever it was—convinced Albus that this was what Minerva had really wanted to discuss; the subject she had been attempting to bring up when she had had her emotional breakdown.

Whatever it was had clearly caused her enough stress to send her over the edge, and Albus was torn. Half of him wanted to stop her from continuing, so as to spare her from the additional stress. The other half, however, was extremely curious and wanted very much to know what it was.

Minerva was biting her lip and looking anywhere but at Albus. The old headmaster wondered why she was suddenly so nervous. He hoped his suspicion was correct. He suddenly felt a strong desire to discover what Minerva had been trying to tell him before she had accidentally let slip about her sister's owl. Albus had known that Minerva had not intended to tell him about her sister, but he was glad she had. He was also glad that he had shared with her a bit of his own childhood. He knew that these revelations had only brought them closer than ever.

Minerva didn't know where to begin. She knew that she had to tell Albus how she felt, or her heart would absolutely explode. She looked up into his sparkling blue eyes and, for the first time, thought about what would happen if he said he shared her feelings. How wonderful it would be! They would finally get to be together, but they would have quite a job hiding it from the students…Minerva let out a small chuckle at the thought of the looks on the children's faces if they discovered that she and the Headmaster were in a relationship.

"Um, Minerva dear, pardon my asking, but you know how marvelous a time I have whenever I find an excuse to randomly burst into laughter, so if you'd like to share yours, I'd be more than delighted."

The playful look he gave her made Minerva's heart swell and she laughed even harder. She could contain herself no more; she would have to tell him, and it would have to be now.

Albus didn't know what Minerva was chuckling at, nor did he really care. All he could think about was how beautiful she was when she laughed. He hoped she would not take his sarcastic comment the wrong way. Minerva was known for having a rather dry sense of humor – the kind of person who can make a good joke, but not take one. When Minerva laughed even harder, he sighed inwardly with relief.

Albus laughed with her for a moment, but his laughter died down quickly. She was not watching him and therefore could not see him staring adoringly at her, transfixed by her beauty. Slowly, Minerva realized that Albus was no longer laughing with her. Her laughter faltered and she suddenly looked rather confused and slightly discomfited to see the Headmaster watching her.

What was that look in Albus' eyes? Surely it couldn't be— . Minerva shook herself inwardly, trying not to let her hopes rise too high. She was suddenly very nervous again. The wonderful moments in which she had imagined herself and Albus trying to conceal their hypothetical relationship—and the amused and confused faces of the students if they were to discover it—were slipping from her mind. The results all seemed to wonderful in theory, but the actual execution was proving to be far more difficult than she had hoped, though quite like she had imagined it would be.

"Erm, Albus?" she asked. "Is something the matter?"

"Nothing, whatsoever." He replied. "Everything is…beautiful."

_For here you are, standing there, loving me,_

_Whether or not you should._

_So, somewhere in my youth or childhood_

_I must have done something good._

Albus did not know what he was doing. Every bit of his brain was screaming at him to stop. Stop leaning in towards the woman before him. Remove the hand that had found Minerva's waist and was pulling them closer together. Open the eyes that had started to close in anticipation of what his brain was screaming could not possibly be coming.

But for once, Albus ignored his conscience. Ignored all instinct and foreboding. The genius who had achieved so many great things by obeying the biddings of his brilliant mind was suddenly telling his brain to shut up, and acted, for the first time in his very long life, without any trace of thought or prudence.

Minerva dropped her eyes from the dazzling blue ones that were moving steadily closer to her. Her heart raced when she felt his hand on her waist, and allowed the distance between them to decrease. Her mind was devoid of all though. She tried to think, but not a single thought came. All she knew was that her dreams were finally coming true, and before she knew it, she was leaning into his arms and sharing the kiss that had been so many years in coming.

Ignoring the catcalls and clapping from the portraits and suits of armor along the corridor, Albus and Minerva stood together, neither daring to believe that they were actually here, together, sharing the kiss that they had both longed for and dreamed about for so long. Neither noticed the retching sounds or bubbly scent behind them, as the invisible figure that had just emerged from the Prefects' Bathroom wished he were back in the pool-sized tub being harassed by Moaning Myrtle.


End file.
